An Assassin Caught
by Pupmon1
Summary: How did someone like Beruka come to work for someone like Camilla? [The Dragon's Retainers]


Beruka groaned as consciousness returned to her. She's aware of a cold stone floor at her back, and her own self critic coming to rear its ugly head. The last thing she remembered was sneaking into Castle Krakenburg...to the high princess's room...then she was knocked out. She scolded herself for assuming it would be a simple task to kill the high princess and letting her guard down. Though another voice bubbled up, reminding her that she was more than careful. Someone must've outsmarted her. But wh-

"Are you awake?" a feminine voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

The teallette groaned for a moment before speaking. "...yes," she answered obediently.

"Get up."

The command was harsh...it didn't need to be, but the person didn't know that. She knew when she was beaten...and she had accepted that this was the fate of all assassins eventually.

Beruka opened her eyes and carefully got up. Her muscles were stiff from laying on the floor for what she could estimate was a night, but she felt light without her regular . She was in a jail cell as she suspected, but the woman on the other side of the bars surprised her. Instead of a guard holding a sword...it was the high princess, Camilla Sumrak, wearing purple revealing maligknight armor and leaning on a silver ax.

Beruka stepped forward, expecting for the door to swing open and for her neck to meet the blade of that ax. Some part of her felt bare without her armor, but she wasn't going to let her captor see her squirm.

Camilla stared at her prisoner for a few moments before standing up straight. Her dull red eyes sharpened and turned bright red. She raised her free hand and magic swirled around her fingers. Magic washed over the assassin, and her body tensed...but her mind seemed to be target of this spell.

"You're an assassin correct?"

Beruka hesitated for a moment before the words spilled from her mouth. "Yes, I'm an assassin." Her eyes narrowed...an interrogation spell.

Camilla hummed and opened the cell door, seeing Beruka was completely under the influence of her spell. "Why were you in my room?"

"I was contracted to kill you." Beruka's eyes followed Camilla as she circled around her.

"By whom?"

"I don't know."

Camilla paused in front of her prisioner, staring her down. "Who hired you?" she asked a little more clearly.

"I don't know," she repeated. "I never saw the person who contracted the kill. They went through a secondary source. The man spoke with a Hoshidan accent, though that may have been an attempt at a misdirection to avoid this situation."

Camilla frowned and stepped back, thinking for a few moments. "Huh...you're giving up a lot of information I didn't ask for."

"This spell is unnecessary. I feel no loyalty towards the contractors."

"Is that a plea for your life?"

Beruka twitched a little, trying to shake her head. "No. Nothing so bold. As I said, I feel no loyalty towards them."

"There will be more coming...won't there?"

"Yes."

"Is it safe to assume you were the best though?"

"No." Beruka paused as the word spilled from her mouth. She glanced away for the moment before continuing. "I am the most efficient."

Camilla hummed thoughtfully and lifted her ax, propping it on her shoulder. "Do you fear for your life?"

"I do not wish to die," she said simply.

Camilla smiled and snapped her fingers. Beruka's shoulders relaxed as the spell fell away and she shifted her stance, placing her hands behind her back. "Well then...I wish to hire you."

"You wish me to kill my employers?" the assassin purposed as she stepped towards the princess.

"No. I do not wish you to kill anyone, but to keep me from dying."

Beruka paused and stared at the purple haired woman. "Um...that's not what I do. I kill people."

Camilla chuckled and glanced back at the assassin, the grip on her ax tightening. "You wish to die?"

"No." Beruka glanced away before stepping forward, understanding what Camilla meant. There was no way she would ever leave this castle...this cell as a simple assassin.

"Think about it like this, my dear…" Camilla started talking as she left the cell, Beruka a few steps behind her. "You'll be killing people to keep me safe."


End file.
